(10 minutes, easy set-up)
Students will identify the significance of the symbols of Easter.
Provide a sheet of paper and a pen for each group. Also, provide a dry erase board and markers.
Say: When you think about Easter, probably all kinds of symbols for how you’ve celebrated come to mind . . . from your Easter Basket to the empty tomb. Lead students to take turns coming to the board and drawing other symbols of the season on the board (such as Easter eggs, jelly beans, new clothes, the Easter Bunny, chicks, Easter bonnet, dogwood tree, bunnies, palm branches, Easter lilies, the cross), making sure each is identified as it is drawn. Then, assign each symbol on the board to one or two students and instruct them to use their smartphones to find out the symbolism behind each item on the board. After a minute or so, lead students to briefly explain why each item is significant to our understanding of Easter. Ask: What is the common idea of these symbols? (New life) Share that in today’s lesson, students will examine how witnesses who found the empty tomb came to understand the true meaning of new life.